SHOULD have checked my diary, shouldn’t I, to see what my next drive was before taking the mickey out of the Skoda Yeti’s silly name on my last road test. Had I done so, I might have kept my powder dry to use on the Kia cee’d – the name by the way is said to derive from Community of Europe and European Design.
Still, respect to Kia for an early midlife facelift that goes further than most – although the cee’d has been a deserved success for them in its just short of three years.
Under the leadership of new design chief Peter Schreyer – whose credits include the Audi TT – changes outside include the bonnet, bumper, grille and light clusters.
Inside, drivers will find an improved centre console and upgraded audio system with Bluetooth connectivity.
Under the bonnet the old belt-cam petrol and diesel engines have gone from the range which is now entirely powered by chain-cam units of 1.4 (petrol) and 1.6 (petrol and diesel) litres.
The bumper to bumper warranty remains an unrivalled seven years/100,000 miles – speaking volumes of Kia’s confidence in the quality of vehicles coming out of its Slovakian factory.
The corrosion warranty is up from 10 to 12 years and the cee’d line-up is simplified with the models simply called 1, 2 and 3 in ascending order of goodies.
And as you would expect in this sector these days, there is a special green version of the mid-spec car, the new EcoDynamics, which is the model chosen by Forest Road Garage as their demonstrator.
Showroom appeal is strong – a far cry from the early budget offerings.
It’s smart, contemporary and looks as well finished as cars costing several thousand more.
Getting in does nothing to disillusion, either – especially considering that the EcoDynamics is available in virtually unchanged specification 2 only.
Kit levels are pretty generous right through the cee’d range, although making the stability control package standard on only the top model is, under the new test regime, likely to cost one of the five Euro NCap stars that the old cee’d had.
That said, it still boasts active head restraints and a full complement of six airbags.
The mid-spec test car had air con, electric front windows, electric mirrors, six-speaker sound system with aux and USB ports and Bluetooth connectivity.
The updated interior includes a new-style steering wheel – leather in this specification – and gear lever, all-red instrument illumination, a new centre console and new audio systems and new switchgear.
With other touches like nicely damped grab handles and smoker’s drawer and the nicely textured, soft-feel fascia, the interior is right on the money for the class and would appear pretty durable, too.
The space is sensibly shared between front and rear passengers and their luggage. Bags of headroom in the rear and a decent, sensibly shaped boot that can be extended via the split-folding drop-down rear seats.
And yes, there is a spare wheel under the boot – a space saver admittedly, but that’s more than you’ll find in some rivals.
On the road it’s really rather impressive.
Perhaps not the very quietest under hard acceleration, but the 1.6-litre diesel engine is a bit of a star, although with the EcoDynamics aiming to get the most out of each gallon, it features the less powerful, 89bhp, version.
Even with 24 fewer horses than the full fat version
of the same engine the performance figures look acceptable – just about. But that’s on paper.
The reality is better, much better, as you might expect with a diesel.
That’s because there’s plenty of pulling power. Forget bhp; torque, lb/ft or Nm, is the grunt that really matters – and it’s there at precisely the sort of revs you are likely to be doing.
Taking more than 13 seconds to cover the benchmark sprint to 62mph seems pretty pedestrian these days.
But that 173lb/ft of torque between 1,750 and 2,750rpm makes it a good idea to keep a sharp eye on the speedo.
A squirt of gas in fourth will get the needle into licence-threatening territory surprisingly quickly – especially for a model designed with high mpg/low CO2 in mind.
The EcoDynamics has a six-speed gearbox to allow relaxed and thrifty cruising and should be a relaxed motorway companion.
Around local roads, although diesel drivers don’t need to shift gear as often as petrol types, it’s no hardship – the box is delightfully slick and the clutch pleasantly light.
What puts the Eco into EcoDynamics?
Mostly, a superbly efficient, intelligent stop-start system.
When neutral is selected and speed falls below 3mph, the engine cuts. It’s pretty alarming the first time you get caught up in stop-go traffic, but it really does work well.
Just dip the clutch and it starts again – instantly.
Wait at lights in silence, burning no fuel and then, when the amber light joins the red, just dip the clutch and engage first and you will be away sharp on the green, even if you are at the head of the queue.
There is also a discreet gear shift reminder showing when to change up or down to keep the engine running at its most efficient.
All cee’ds except the range-topping 3 run on Michelin Energy Saver tyres which are worth 4g/km of CO2, bringing the EcoDynamic’s emissions figure down to 110g/km and qualifying it for an annual road fund licence of £35 a year in the UK.
That CO2 figure might yet become significant here, but for the moment most of us talk mpg rather than carbon dioxide so just how economical is it?
The official combined figure is 67.3mpg but what will it really do?
After two days of hooning around – I didn’t even notice the gear shift reminder until the second day – the trip computer was showing into the 40s. I reckon that if I had one to use on my daily round it would get me closer to 50mpg.
So it’s well built, well-warranted, well-equipped, keenly priced to buy and miserly to run.
What’s not to like?
Nothing, really.
In any sort of driving that could be mistaken for normal, it goes where you point it and stops when you hit the pedal in the middle.
And talking of pedals there is the rare option in this segment of a diesel automatic which should add to the model’s appeal locally.
To nitpick, despite the suspension revisions, while it never gets uncomfortable, you are still a bit more aware of surface imperfections than in some rivals.
That might be down to the Michelin tyres.
But since the first Michelins to bear the Green X logo were launched in 1992, they have saved more than 11 billion litres of fuel and nearly 29 million tonnes of carbon emissions have been avoided worldwide.
That makes it a price worth paying – just like the sub-£13K one on the sticker.
Article posted on 22nd October, 2009 - 9.00am
